Jan 19 2009
Happy Martin Luther King Day to one all. It has taken the proverbial 40 years through the wilderness to arrived at the Promised Land. Interesting synchronicity? Coincidence? However we view the road to this present moment, we are experiencing an amazing beginning and a call to action, to hope and to possibility.
A pre-election bumper sticker said it all: Jan 20 2009 - the end of an error. And tomorrow we see the Inauguration of President Barack Obama and experience a turning point in history. I feel sure that in the years to come, we will look at the 'old footage' of the present celebrations and remember where we were and what we were doing on January 19 and 20, 2009. As an ex South African I experienced the same sense of amazed disbelief and wonder when Nelson Mandela became the President of an apartheid-free South Africa. It was something for which we hoped, prayed, and worked towards in our different ways as South Africans. Many brave and committed souls suffered and lost their lives for that dream that became a reality.
And now as an American, it is our turn to experience the giddy excitement, goodwill, enthusiasm and love that is tangible across the land, and I am sure across the globe. One cannot help but be moved to tears as we hear Martin Luther King's words once more, as we see the shining faces of African Americans in dizzy and joyful celebration. The dream is becoming a reality.
As our prayers focus on the safety of the new Presidential family, we focus on the positive energy the we feel today and commit to using it as springboard towards a more inclusive society, a connected and balanced world that will celebrate our diversity.
As one who has felt totally alienated from the national scene over the past eight years, it is such a delight to once feel the excitement of possibility and potential that President Obama represents and we look forward to a new year, an new administration and a new era that will call to us all to play our own part in being present to the present moment and all that it can be as we strive to create a new world.
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3 comments:
Dear Heather,
When we came to live in America twenty years ago we never for one minute thought we would ever be embarrassed to be American.
Unfortunately the administration of the past eight years changed that.
But, tomorrow it's in with the new and out with the old and we are so happy, so proud and so full of hope once more.
Sincerely,
Cathy
Your article so encapsulates our feelings at this momentous historic milestone in history. How fortuitous for this to happen at a time when the world needs a principled leader to lead us out of this quagmire.
Your feelings resonate most deeply with us especially in the light of our country's history (SOUTH AFRICA).
BARBARA J
January 20, 2009
I'd like to offer just a quick addition to Heather's eloquent post that we "we strive to create a new world."
May we also have the courage to peel back the facade of our racial tolerance and summon the stamina to acknowledge the grave injustice and alienation of our Native Americans.
And, may we someday be able to drop the "African" qualifier of the "African American" citizen or the "Native" from the "Native American" citizen (or "Asian" or "Arab" or whatever region of the world a citizen hails from) before the word "American" and simply call ourselves "American."
Could "citizen of the world" be next?
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